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Thomas Continues Big Week in Win Over USC
12/6/2009 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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DURHAM, N.C. - Jasmine Thomas is having a pretty special week.
Thursday night she scored a career-high 29 points in a comeback victory over No. 3 Ohio State.
For an encore, the junior guard netted 28 points as the Duke Blue Devils fought back from a 14-point deficit to take down visiting USC, 78-72, Sunday afternoon from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In her last two outings, the Fairfax, Va., native has combined to score 57 points, willing her team for back-to-back come from behind victories against two talented opponents.
"[I am] Just playing my game, attacking, taking shots when I'm supposed to," Thomas said. "I feel that all my points come within the flow of the game. I never even realize how much I am scoring."
She has scored over 20 points in three out of the last four games fueling the Blue Devils as they have improved to 7-1 on the season posting their sixth win in a row on the season.
But her impact hasn't just been felt in the scoring column. She has been on the floor for a combined 72 minutes the last two games, shooting 18-of-40 (.450) from the floor, 17-of-18 (.944) from the free throw line, recording 5 steals and turning the ball over just 4 times as Duke's primary ball handler.
She was perfect Sunday from the free throw line connecting on a career high 10 shots from the charity stripe.
Asked following the game about her attention to free throw shooting, Thomas responded it is a result of not wanting to be held after practice to shoot extra free throws.
It is that focus that has grabbed the attention of her coaches and teammates and why she is one the leaders of this team.
"[I] thought Jas[mine Thomas] was cool, calm and focused, understanding what to do at every possession, except for a few not coming back to the ball, but other than that just a terrific game from [Jasmine Thomas], as you know, in being very focused," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "It was a great game."
The Blue Devils trailed by 14 in the first half, and by as many as 11 in the second half, but a three pointer by Thomas with 9:21 remaining gave Duke a 54-53 lead, its first since the opening minutes of the game, with Duke taking the lead for good with 6:32 remaining, 62-61.
Duke held the Trojans to just 37.9 percent shooting in the second half and forced USC to turn the ball over 22 times, while the Blue Devils turned it over just 11 times.
"It's a defensive thing," Thomas said. "You know that you're only going to come back in the game like that by getting stops. There were a few times where we got stops and we didn't score, but because we continuously kept getting stops, eventually our offense came together, and we got to the line and made free throws. So it was just us having the will and the fight to get some stops on defense and turning that into offense."
This is not the first time that Thomas has had a big game against the Trojans. Last season, Thomas helped lead a come from behind victory at USC. Thomas scored 22 points against the Trojans a year ago.
USC head coach Michael Cooper was impressed by what he saw out of the junior guard.
"She's a great player," Cooper said. "I know during my days with the WNBA, she was a player that was high on our radar and we always looked at her."
"She's a tremendous player and she's definitely going to have a great career here in finishing the next year or so at Duke and then when she goes to the professional level, she's going to have an even better career," Cooper added.
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